Studio dress



Oct. 27, 1931; M. E. VAN EPPS 1,829,170

STUDIO DRESS Filed Feb. 28, 1930 anomtoz /Z /2 0 02 I NITED STATES Patented Oct. 27, 1931 PATENT OFFICE MARGARET n. VAN EPPS, or FLORALVVPARK, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOB. or ONE-THIRD 'ro ,"ROIBERT c. BIRKHAHN, or WOODMERE, LONG ISLAND, NEW YORK STUDIO DRESS This invention relates to a dress designed especially for the studio or dancing class and has for its object to provide a simple, practical costume which is economical of material and easy to manufacture and launder, gives the wearer a dainty well-groomed appearance, and allows perfect muscular freedom for the technical exercises of the dance.

Dancing has become such an established form of our national education that it has created its own need for a studio working garment. My invention provides a dress which fulfills the special requirements of the dancing class, foremost among which are muscular freedom, simplicity, daintiness, and ease in laundering and is adapted to be slipped on over the head, thereby eliminating all fastening means so that no time 1s lost in getting ready for class.

The dress is preferably made of six pieces of material, though it may be made of four or five pieces if desired. In any case, it consists of waist front and back portions which are sewed together at the sides and shoulders, forming a bodice which is shaped to conform snugly to the contour of the body. The waist front has a narrow fitted skirt panel, and the skirt front is completed by two like segments which are sewed to the lateral edges of said panel and shirred in at the upper edges to give the desired fullness. The back of the skirt is formed by two larger segments which are joined together to form a substantially semi-circular portion the upped edge of which is sewed to the Waist back, and the lateral edges of which are sewed to the front segments to form the side seams of the skirt. The front and back of the dress are shaped at the waist-line to give a snug fit, giving the wearer a chic, well-groomed appearance, and as there is no belt or seam at the waist-line the dress will remain in place at all times regardless of strenuous action.

An important advantage of this dress is its simplicity and ease of assembling due to the fact that the edges of the several sections constitute measuring devices which enable the parts to be matched instantly without special knowledge or directions. In the following description I shall illustrate this feature with certain dimensions for a size 14 dress, it being understood that such dimensions are not used in a limiting sense.

The invention will be described in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the dress shown on the figure of a dancer;

Fig. 2 is a rear view;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the waist front;

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the waist back;

Figs. 5 and 6 are plan views of the back and front skirt segments, respectively; and

Fig. 7 is a plan view of the bloomers worn with the dress.

The dress has front and back waist portions 1 and 2, each of which may be made from a single piece of goods. The front portion 1 has a narrow central skirt panel 3 which is curved inwardly below the waistline, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3. The shoulder edges 4 of the waist front and 4 of the waist back measure 3 inches and are joined to gether matching corresponding single clipped-in notches, making the shoulder seams. The lateral edges 5 of the waist front and 5 of the waist back measure 11 inches. These edges are sewed together, matching corresponding double notches, and make the side seams of the waist. Two small darts 6 are )IOVlClQCl under the arm holes, as shown in ig. 3, to insure a snug fit at this point. The front and back portions 1 and 2 forming the bodice are shaped to conform snugly to the contour of the body and will remain in place while permitting perfect freedom of movement.

The body of the skirt preferably comprises two like front segments 7 and two like back segments 8. The lateral edges 9 of skirt panel 3 and the lateral edges 9 of front segments 7 measure 8 inches, and said edges 9 and 9 are joined by matching corresponding single notches. The lateral edges 10 of front segments 7 and the lateral edges 10 of bacl segments 8 also measure 8 inches, these edges being joined by matching corresponding double notches and forming the side seams of the skirt. The meeting edges 11 of back segments 8 measure 8 ,4, inches, and are joined Jam together by matching corresponding triple notches, forming the back seam of the skirt.

In joining the skirt to the waist the curved edges 12 of front segments 7 are sewed to the respective edges 12 of the walst front 1," matching corresponding spaced single notches therein. The edge'12 is somewhat longer than the edge 12 and is therefore shlrred in at the seam, giving the desired fullness in the skirt with a minimum amount of material. The curved edges 18 of back segments 8 are joined to the pointed or V-shaped edge 13 of the Waist back 2 by matching corresponding spaced double notchestherein, V

The neck, arm holes and bottom edge of the skirt may he finishedwith binding or picotedging. The dress may be worn with bloomers of conventional type as shown in Fig. 7.

It will be seen from the above that the matched edges of waist sections 1 and 2 and the several skirt sections 7 and 8 constitute measuring devices which enable the dress to be assembled quickly, giving the proper shapand back being sewed together at the sides and shoulder edges forming a bodice shaped to conform snugly to the contour of the body, anda skirt portion including a pluralityof skirt segments together constituting substantially acircle sewed to the lower-edges of the waist at front and back and the side edges of the skirt panel, the lower edge of the panel forming a portion of the lower edge of the Signed at New York city in'the county ofNew York and State of New York this of February, A. D. 1930.

MARGARET E. VAN EPPS.

ing at the waist-line and the desired fullness in the skirt. The segments 7 and 8 taken together preferably constitute a complete circle, as indicated in Figs. 5 and 6, and the insertion of panel 3 gives the skirt added fullness which allows perfect freedom of movement with a minimum amount of material. Since there is no seam at the waist-line the dress will not ride up even under strenuous action.

If desired, thetwo back segments 8 maybe cut in one piece, or-else two separate pieces may be out each to lnclude a front segment 7 and a back segment 8. 7 Other changes may also be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

' The invention claimed is:

1. A dancing dress adopted to be slipped 011 over the head, comprising a waistfront having integral therewith a narrow central 3 panel flared outwardly at the bottom, and

forming part of the skirt, a waist back having a V-shaped lower edge, said Waist front and back being sewed together atthe sides and shoulder edges forming a bodice shaped to conform snugly to the contour of the body, a pair of like segments sewed to the waist front along the edges of said panel and forming therewith a full skirt front, and a full skirt back including a pair of like segments i sewed to the V-shaped edge of the waist back forming part of the skirt, a waist back having a V-shaped lower edge, said Waist front 

